There are dozens of effective cycling apps that can enhance the quality of your ride or help you track your fitness goals. Gone are the days when cycling meant repeatedly riding around the block. Now, you can sit on a stationary bicycle in your living room, racing a course you’ve never been to with a community at your side and a coach at your fingertips. All virtually, of course.
Whether you are looking for help with an indoor cycling routine or want to expand your outside fitness goals, here are some of the best cycling apps.
What is your cycling goal?
Like all cardio exercise, cycling has a number of health benefits. It has been proven to help with cardiovascular fitness, strength and mental health. It is also an effective non-weight bearing exercise that can tone your thighs, calves and core with minimal chance of injury. As it grows in popularity, more and more local cycling groups are formed, allowing riders to connect to a wider Lycra-clad community.
Are you looking to get fitter?
If you are trying to improve your fitness, one of the most important things to do is track your progress. You need to know whether the time you are cycling is increasing and whether you are able to go faster or travel longer distances.
While you can track some of these factors on your watch, an app like Strava will give you a much more comprehensive analysis of your cycling. It can tell you how many kilometres you’ve cycled, how long you have been moving, what speed you are going, whether there is an incline, and how much power you are inputting. Strava will even count how many calories you’ve burned.
While Strava’s free entry-level package won’t give you a program to follow, having access to these details will allow you to create your own.
Are you looking for more variety?
Sometimes, staring at the same four walls - whether in a gym, a private pain cave or the paint colour in your living room that you never liked - can get dull. For those cyclists looking for an indoor cycling app that will give them greater variety, an app like Zwift or Kinomap is a great way to mix it up.
Zwift and Kinocap allow you to race different online routes and take in some varied scenery. Zwift connects you to an online community of other pedal prowlers in a huge selection of virtual routes from around the world. Meanwhile, Kinomap offers over 40,000 real-life training videos featuring tracks from across the globe. It’s a holiday without even getting on a plane. You just have to get on a bike instead.
Are you training for something?
Science tells us that the best way to improve performance is to compete against others. Cycling apps Zwift and Kinomap both allow you to compete against other cyclists in real-time, with on-screen avatars and a virtual leaderboard. The cycling app will tell you how far away your nearest competitors are from you and how fast you are going, allowing you to really put your foot down.
For people who need more gentle encouragement, the cycling app JRNY has a virtual coaching feature, offering you support and instruction as you pedal. On the other hand, Kinomap gives you the chance to challenge your friends and chat with them in live audio mode as you go. That’s if they can hear you through your muscles screaming.
What devices are compatible with cycling apps?
Many of the best cycling apps have been optimised so that they can be linked up to Apple TV, laptops or widescreen TVs. But you don’t need to see your wheels on a widescreen to access the key features of these apps. And you don’t want to be an example of all the gear and no idea. Most are perfectly compatible with a smartphone.
What is the best cycling app for iPhones?
While being able to see yourself on a larger screen via Apple TV or through your laptop or tablet does create more of an atmosphere, you don’t need one. Zwift is easy to access on an iPhone and is compatible with all of the recent models. And the portability of being able to access it on a mobile means you can take Zwift to the gym - or even on vacation - with you. There really is no rest for the wicked.
What is the best cycling app for Android?
While some of the newer apps have a whole new range of bells and whistles, we will always have a soft spot for Strava, which has been letting bikers brag about their cycling prowess since 2009. Strava is the best cycling app for Android as it’s easy and free to download and use, and it allows you the ability to follow friends’ fitness, as well as your own. As its primary role is to record your fitness, you don’t need a large screen or sophisticated software to maximise your usage.
Best cycling app for budget
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A key point of difference between cycling and exercise apps is how much they cost. Many of the apps have different service level options, with membership becoming more expensive the more of the app you utilise. Strava is one of the best free cycling apps available, with cyclists being able to access all tracking, logging, ‘kudos’ and messaging features for free.
Their premium version allows cyclists to set goals, plan routes, and track their fitness against past performance. And at $7.99 per month, it’s at the cheaper end of the app spectrum. For reference, popular apps, like Kinomap or Rouvy start at $11.99 a month, while Zwift comes in at $21.99. JRNY, which offers trainer-led workouts and worldwide routes, also has a free entry-level subscription.
What other exercise do you do?
When selecting which cycling app is best for you, it’s worth thinking about what other exercise you enjoy to ensure you get more bang for your buck. While Strava provides the opportunity to log over 40 different exercises, its strong focus on cycling, running, and rowing makes it more useful for diehard cardio fanatics. Zwift supports running but predominantly focuses on cycling, while Kinomap also focuses on cardio exercises, like cycling, running, elliptical exercise, and rowing. Jrny offers a more comprehensive experience, so it might be more suitable for cyclists who like to supplement their biking with bodyweight exercises.
Are these apps compatible with equipment?
Many of the spin bikes, upright bikes, recumbent bikes and air bikes at Orbit Fitness come with these cycling apps integrated into their technology. We have stores across Perth, Mandurah, and Bunbury, and offer Australia-wide delivery on our huge range of exercise equipment. We even have flexible payment options, like Afterpay, to ensure reliable fitness equipment is affordable and accessible. Explore our stores with the Orbit experts, or check out our online range. Chat with the team for more information about our products can help your health and fitness journey, or browse our FAQs.
